This week’s Photo Friday (#FriFotos) theme is PARKS.  Pictured above is Lafitte’s Blacksmith Shop, the oldest bar in New Orleans (and possibly one of the oldest in the US). It’s named for Jean Lafitte, the famed pirate and privateer who supposedly used the bar, on Bourbon Street...

There are plenty of cool hotels in New Orleans, but on my last trip, I chose two places where I had always wanted to stay: The Columns Hotel on St. Charles Avenue and the International House in the Central Business District Downtown. We spent two nights at each.Built in 1883 by New Orleans architect...

Jambalaya, crawfish pie, file gumbo….I think we ate them all. Besides my cocktail-fueled costume lunch at Commander’s Palace and luxe Saturday night dinner at Stella! in the French Quarter, our forays into New Orleans cuisine kept on going, with two visits into the Carrollton neighborhood.   Photo...

Every time I visit New Orleans, I visit old favorites – and then try something new. This trip, I finally made it to Restaurant Stella!, the French Quarter restaurant by Chef Scott Boswell.Stella opened right before I left in 2001, and I never got to try it. I have to admit that the exclamation...

A bout of bad weather on our recent New Orleans trip meant that I had the chance to skip parades and focus on another aspect of the city I love: shopping!Normally, I do most of my New Orleans shopping in the cute shops along Magazine Street. But my sister and I were within walking distance of the...

It goes without saying that the Krewe of Muses has one of the best parades of the Carnival season. What else would you expect from a group of New Orleans’ most successful professional women? Even though we’re a relatively young krewe, only 11 years old, we quickly established ourselves on...

A few people have asked me what people need to do to join a Mardi Gras krewe (and how much it costs).Most krewes, especially the older ones, have closed memberships that have, in some cases, been handed down through families for generations. New Orleans holds its traditions tight, so you have a better...

Spectators may only grab a glimpse of Mardi Gras floats as they roll by, but for the riders, preparing for a New Orleans parade is an all-day affair.I rode in the Krewe of Muses this year for the fifth time since joining the Mardi Gras organization back in 2001. It proved to be the best ride I’ve...

Today’s Photo Friday comes from Mardi Gras in New Orleans.  Pictured is the lead walking group of the Muses parade, one of the premier Mardi Gras Krewes.  The crowds come out in full-force to see the Muses, an all-women Krewe consisting of 20+ extravagantly designed floats, whose major theme...

This week, I’m heading to New Orleans where I’ll ride in the Krewe of Muses 2011 parade on Thursday night. It’s a family affair, as my sister will be on the float with me and my parents are driving in from Florida to watch the spectacle.Some people scoff when I tell them that Mardi...